In 2016, more than 237,000 guns were reported stolen in the US, a
more than 68% increase from 2005, an investigation from NBC
and The Trace found.

In the last decade alone, 2 million guns were reported
stolen, although that number is likely higher because many
incidents of gun theft are never even reported. One
estimate from the nonpartisan think-tank Center for
American Progress puts the number of stolen guns per year at
380,000.

"The impact of gun theft is quite clear," Frank
Occhipinti, an officer with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, told The Trace. "It is devastating our
communities."

In the wake of mass shootings that
have become all-too common in the US, gun control advocates
typically push for enhanced background checks and tighter legal
restrictions on the kinds of weapons citizens can buy — but gun
theft from everyday owners is often left out of the discussion.

For more than a year, NBC and The Trace analyzed police
records in hundreds of jurisdictions and cities across America in
36 states. All in all, they assessed roughly 800,000 records from
more than 1,000 local and state law enforcement agencies.

In two-thirds of the 80 cities analyzed, gun theft rates
increased substantially over a five-year period. In St.
Louis, for example, 843 firearms were reported stolen in 2015, a
27% increase from 2010.

The Trace points out the irony in the increasing number of gun
thefts around the country. While many law-abiding Americans buy
guns for self defense, those guns often end up arming the
very same criminals they fear.

Gun owners make it easy for criminals to steal

From carjackings to kidnappings, armed robberies to sexual
assaults, criminals use stolen guns in a variety of situations.

In one case that
The Trace/NBC investigation highlighted, criminals stole four
shotguns and two handguns that an Arizona couple left stuffed in
their dresser drawers.

When they returned home one day, all the guns were missing. Eight
months later, police recovered one of the guns on the floor of a
getaway car three robbers used after holding up a gas station and
leading police on lengthy chase.

The source of the problem, experts say, is negligence on the part
of many gun owners. Criminals are able to rob legal owners of
their guns in many cases because their weapons are simply not
secured in safes or lock boxes.

"It comes down to basic human responsibility," Occhipinti, the
ATF official, told The Trace. "If a gun owner doesn't do what
he's supposed to be doing, that obviously makes our job a lot
harder."